Interview: China can help bolster global governance, says former Indonesian parliament speaker

JAKARTA, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- China can continue to play an essential role in promoting policy coordination on global governance issues at the upcoming Group of 20 Summit in Bali, said Marzuki Alie, former speaker of the People's Representative Council of Indonesia.

In an interview with Xinhua, he said China has become essential in improving global governance and can help developing countries have a stronger voice on the international stage.

He said that the visionary concept of building a human community with a shared future proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping shows China is willing to work with other countries to create a peaceful and secure world with openness and inclusiveness.

He recalled the speech delivered by Xi at the Indonesian parliament on Oct. 3, 2013, in which the Chinese leader proposed the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road for the first time. As speaker of the Indonesian parliament then, Marzuki accompanied Xi into the parliament hall and listened to his speech.

"President Xi mentioned Zheng He, the famous Chinese navigator of the Ming Dynasty, who made seven voyages to the Western Seas and stopped over the Indonesian archipelago in each of his voyages, leaving beautiful stories of friendly exchanges between the Chinese and Indonesian peoples," said Marzuki.

President Xi also elaborated on his vision for further promoting the development of relations between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), expressing China's willingness to work together with Indonesia and other regional countries to build a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future, he said.

Marzuki said Indonesian President Joko Widodo has proposed the vision of a Global Maritime Fulcrum and is vigorously promoting a maritime highway construction program.

At the same time, the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Silk Road Fund have supported Indonesia's infrastructure construction and development, he said.

The former parliament leader added that the Belt and Road cooperation has also effectively enhanced ASEAN-China relations and facilitated upgrading the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area, helping both sides achieve common progress and development.

Noting closer ties between Indonesia and China in recent years, Marzuki said that practical economic, trade and investment cooperation has deepened. During the COVID-19 pandemic, their in-depth collaboration on health and medicine effectively helped Indonesia control the spread of the virus.

Having been to China several times, Marzuki has witnessed China's rapid development over the years. He said that China has found a development pattern suitable for itself, voicing his belief that under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China, the country will be able to achieve more significant progress.